Looking for acceptance through the most radical of means. Independents Night: Be Like Others Thursday, Nov. 13, 6:30 p.m.
A provocative look at a generation of young Iranian men choosing to under go sex change surgery. Read more...
Director Tanaz Eshaghian will introduce the film and answer questions after the screening. A reception will follow the event.
In the Islamic Republic of Iran, where homosexuality is punishable by death, sex-change operations have been legal for “diagnosed transsexuals” for more than 20 years. With Iran’s international arms negotiations dominating headlines around the world, thousands of very private dramas unfold within the country’s borders as a generation of young Iranians adopt this one identity legally allowed to them. They flock to the country’s best-known gender reassignment surgeon, Dr. Bahram Mir Jalali, in pursuit of what one man calls “a decent life,” and are counseled by Vida, a post-op woman who tells the boys how to fit in before surgery and warns them of the societal dangers that await afterwards. In this intimate and unflinching account, Iranian-American filmmaker Tanaz Eshaghian accompanies several young men as they prepare for their transformation, and follows them into and out of surgery.
Be Like Others
Tanaz Eshaghian, USA/Canada/UK/Iran, 2008; 74m
Independents Night showcases New York premieres of American documentaries every other month at the Walter Reade Theater, making it one of the city’s foremost venues for non-fiction work. With the filmmakers in attendance, this provocative evening of discovery and exploration includes a Q&A and reception following the film. Independents Night is programmed by Marian Masone.
Admission:
$11 public
$8 senior
$7 Film Society member & student (w/ID), child (6-12, accompanied by an adult)
Please note: there is a $1.25 service charge per ticket ordered online and cash only transactions at the box office.
